Jack paced angrily in his office as he listened to the county sheriff explaining
what had caused the large explosion that had started the second avalanche.

"It would seem that they had built a drug lab where they were concocting
something like meth. We're still trying to put together all the components
to figure out what exactly they were doing but it appears that it was a meth
lab that exploded and caused that avalanche," the sheriff concluded.

Jack shook
his head. "That stuff is so awful. It just seems to keep
hurting people. It feels like there will never be an end to it."

One of
the deputy sheriffs stuck his head in the door and asked the sheriff to come
outside. The sheriff stepped outside but come right back in, "I
think you need to see this Jack."

Jack stepped
outside and the sheriff pointed into the back of the deputy sheriff's
jeep. There were bags of partially burnt roots. Jack picked one
up and looked at the sheriff, "Peyote?"

"That's
what I thought too." The sheriff stated with a nod.

"The
DEA thinks that they were using part of the stuff used to make meth and mixing
peyote with it to make a new, more potent drug." The deputy sheriff
said as he closed his jeep back up. "They said that if these people
had succeeded at getting this stuff out on the street it could be more addicting
and more deadly than meth is."

"Great
Creator," Jack breathed, "we have to pray that does not happen. Meth
is already destroying so many people's lives. I can't imagine
something worse being available."

"Humph," the
sheriff said sadly, "It's just a matter of time."

"Do
they think they know who might have been financing this? I'm sure
the people who got killed in the explosion were just nobodies stupid enough
to do the dirty work." Jack said as he followed the sheriff to
his car.

"The
DEA say they have some leads but now that the Feds are involved they aren't
telling us much. When I know something, I'll let you in on it,
okay."

"I'd
appreciate it, Jerry." Jack said as he patted the sheriff on the
back and headed back to his house. Jerry Thompson was a good sheriff
and had been taking care of this county for more than twenty years but if there
were people trying to make something worse than meth, Jack was glad that the
Feds were here to deal with it. Hopefully they would be able to stop
it before it did become an epidemic like the meth problem had become.

When he
got back inside the house he picked up the phone and called Robin. She
needed to know what was happening. She had survived the avalanche with
little more than scratches. He knew that she felt responsible for her
friend who had been with her in the avalanche. The poor woman still had
not woken up and she had been at the hospital for almost two weeks now. He
picked up the phone and called Robin's cell phone. She answered
on the first ring and Jack quickly filled her in on what they now knew about
the explosion.

"Sweet
Spirit! That's horrible." Robin exclaimed.

"I
know," Jack agreed, "but that is what happened."

"I
hope they figure out who is behind it and get them into jail."

"Me
too," Jack said but he was afraid that if who ever it was had the money
to finance such a thing, they would have the money to keep themselves out of
jail. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm
on my way to see Marianne. I pray every day that she wakes up and is
okay." Robin said sadly.

"That's
all we can do for her." Jack had a feeling that Marianne meant
more to Robin than she was letting anyone know. "Let me know how she's
doing."

"Okay,
Dad, I'll talk to you later." Robin said as she pulled into
the hospital parking lot and parked her Jeep in the visitor's area. She
went inside and hoped that she did not run into Marianne's parents.

Robin hovered in the lobby of the hospital waiting to see if Marianne's
parents were going to leave for awhile so she would get a chance to sneak in
and see Marianne. She had made friends with one of Marianne's nurses
after the woman had seen her crying and talked Robin into telling her what
was wrong. The nurse, who was also a lesbian, had been very understanding
about Robin's dilemma and helped Robin to get in to see Marianne as often
as she could.

Finally Mike and Janice Jones got off the elevator and left the hospital.
They usually took turns going so that one of them would be with Marianne at
all times but occasionally they would leave together. Mike had taken
time off from work and Back Lands magazine was putting them up in a hotel near
the hospital. Josie had felt so responsible for this happening to Marianne
that she pulled some strings and got the magazine to agree to provide a hotel
for Marianne's parents for up to a month.

Once Robin was sure that they had left the hospital she headed up to the third
floor where Marianne was lying in a bed and being constantly attended to. Robin
sat down in the chair next to the bed and took Marianne's hand. She
wished so much that Marianne would open her eyes and be okay. The doctors
said she was getting better and could wake up at any time. She had taken
quite a bump on the head. The doctors said that, the cold and the shock
was what put her into the coma. They said that once she woke up she would
most likely make a full recovery. Robin squeezed Marianne's hand
and said a prayer that today would be the day she woke up.

Carrie, the lesbian nurse who was letting Robin visit with Marianne came by
and told Robin that she would warn her when Marianne's parents came back. Robin
thanked her and began talking to Marianne. The doctors said that they
should talk to her because it might help her wake up. Robin told her
about the meth lab and the explosion. She told her about the peyote and
what it would mean if they made a drug worse than meth. She told her
about last night's snow that had completely covered the mountains, causing
most roads to be closed. After what seemed to be an hour or so, Robin
was getting sleeping and let her head drop down to the edge of Marianne's
bed. She fell asleep with her head resting next to Marianne's hand. Robin
didn't feel it when Marianne's hand began to gently rub Robin's
head.

An angry voice woke Robin, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Mike
Jones demanded.

"I…I" Robin jumped to her feet and stammered.

"She's my friend," Marianne croaked out.

"Oh my God! She's awake!" Janice Jones cried
and ran out of the room to get the nurse.

Mike Jones glared at Robin. Marianne reached up and squeezed Robin's
hand making Robin turn to her. She didn't say anything else until
the doctor came in. Robin moved out of the way of the doctor and nurses
but made a point to stay away from Mr. Jones. She was about to leave
when Marianne whispered, "Wait."

"Save your voice Marianne," Nurse Carrie said and started to usher
Robin out of the room.

"No," Marianne whispered. "I want her to stay."

Dr. Carter took Marianne's hand, "We'll allow her to come
back after we've had a look at you. You've been in a coma
for fifteen days and now that you are awake we need to look you over."

"Coma?" Marianne echoed. The last thing she remembered
was Robin telling her not to let go of her as the snow from the avalanche crashed
into them.

"Yes Sweetheart," Janice Jones said as she tried to fight back
her tears. "You've been in a coma. Now let the doctor look
at you and your dad, me and your friend will be waiting to talk to you when
they let us come back in."

Marianne looked at her mother's tear stained face, Robin's fearful
face and her father's angry face. She looked at the nurses and
the doctor who were trying to give her reassuring looks. "Okay," was
all she could say and she fell back on the pillows.

Nurse Carrie ushered Robin and Marianne's parents out of the room with
the warning, "Do anything to upset her and you will be asked to leave
the hospital."

After the nurse went back into the room, Mike Jones growled, "What the
hell were you doing in there with her?"

Robin didn't want to get him angry enough to deny visitation for her
so she said, "I just feel so guilty that I couldn't get her out
of the way of the avalanche in enough time. I just wanted to come up
and pray for her."

Mike raised his eye brow warily, "Pray for her?"

"Mike, for Christ's sake," Janice said exasperatedly, "She
is obviously concerned for Marianne and if she wanted to come up and pray for
her that is all the better."

"You look very familiar," Mike said and narrowed his eyes at Robin.

"We have met before," Robin admitted, hoping that Marianne's
mom would not remember the bathroom incident. "I'm Kevin James' cousin.
I met you in Denver with him and his friend Jarrod."

Recognition set in on Mike's face but Janice's face didn't
change, "I knew you looked familiar." Mike thought back to that
night and remembered that there seemed to be a tension between Marianne and
this woman.

Robin sensed the direction of Mike's thoughts, "After our first
excursion out on the trails when she fell in the water and almost drown and
this time she got buried by an avalanche, I was afraid that she would think
I was a bad omen."

"I doubt that, Hon," Janice made eye contact with Robin; "I
think she is still quite fond of you. And, after all, you did save her
both times."

"But she did, and we are thankful for all your efforts and your prayers. Aren't
we Mike?" Janice nudged Mike not so gently who was still staring
daggers at Robin. Janice had a feeling that Robin was more than Marianne's
friend and she was not going to let Mike run her off. In the past few
months Marianne had been happier and more excited about her life than she had
since before the incident with Amanda Kinsey. Janice was not happy about Marianne's
chosen lifestyle but she wanted her daughter to be happy, something she, herself,
had not been in many years. If being with women was what made her happy
then Janice was willing to accept that.

"What?" Mike growled again, having not heard anything Janice had
said because he was still trying to recall the night he had met this girl with
Kevin James.

"We are grateful for her saving Marianne." Janice stated in an
angry tone.

Mike looked at her. Who did she think she was talking to in that tone? He
started to say as much when the doctor came out into the hall. "Marianne's
vitals are all good and she is remembering a lot more than I expected her too. I'm
going to let you visit with her but only for a few minutes. I don't
want her upset and I want her to rest some more before she tries to have longer
visits." He looked pointedly at Mike, "If she gets upset,
the visits will stop until I say otherwise, is that clear?"

"Perfectly," Janice said taking Mike's arm and starting
for the room.

"She wants to see Robin alone first." The doctor said and led
Robin into the room. Mike started to protest but the doctor gave him a look
that made him change his mind. Once inside the room the doctor said "Please
keep it short," and left Robin and Marianne alone.

Robin moved to Marianne's bed side and took her proffered hand. "Hi."

Marianne smiled up at Robin's worried face and brought a smile out of
Robin. "I am so glad you were the first person I saw when I woke
up. It made things a lot less scary than they would have been if I had
seen my parents first."

"I'm so glad I was here. I'm so glad you finally woke
up. I've been so worried about you." Robin squeezed Marianne's
hand. "I want to kiss your whole face so bad but I don't
want to get myself thrown out of here for good."

"You won't get thrown out. If this experience did nothing
else it has made me realize that I can't let my father run my life." Marianne
said firmly.

"I can't believe you are so clear headed after being in a coma
for two weeks." Robin said.

"The doctor said that it has been more like just a deep sleep. He said
that my brain waves have been consistently good but for some reason my body
would not wake up. He said it was a first for him but he had read about
it happening to other people with slight concussions." Marianne
looked out the window at her parents who were looking a bit impatient. "I'm
going to visit with them but I want you to come back later, please."

"I'll be here whenever you want me to be." Robin said putting
her other hand on Marianne's.

"Good." Marianne smiled, "I'm going to hold you to
that."

Robin patted Marianne's hand then let go of it and left the room. Marianne
took a deep breath as she prepared to deal with her parents. After they
came into the room and hugged her, she pushed herself up on her pillows and
stated, "I'm going to be making all the decisions about my care
now that I'm awake and Robin will be coming to visit me often so I don't
want you two to say anything to her or try to do anything to keep her away."

Mike started to protest but Janice shushed him and said to Marianne, "We
will do whatever you wish, Honey."

Marianne smiled, surprised that it had been that easy, "Thanks Mom."

Marianne visited with her parents for a few more minutes until the doctor
came to usher them out of the room. Her father had not said another word
after her mother had cut him but Marianne knew he was furious. She was
glad to see her mom stand up to him and hoped that she would stick to her guns.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Another week had passed and Marianne was finally getting released from the
hospital. Dr. Carter had asked her to stay in the area so he could continue
to monitor her progress. She had asked Robin if she could stay with her for
a while as she continued to recover. Robin had agreed without hesitation
so Marianne felt comfortable staying with her. Even though she was sure she
would be able to get good care in Denver, Marianne had grown to trust Dr. Carter
and wanted to stay in his care until she had completely recovered, she also
didn't want to be away from Robin.

They had talked a great deal during the past week about everything except
how they really felt about each other. Marianne knew that she had fallen in
love with Robin and was pretty sure Robin felt the same way. Even though
they hadn't really gotten to know each other that well, Marianne felt
that their connection to each other was at spiritual level. She had never
looked that deeply within herself before but coming so close to death had made
her take a good long, hard look at herself and it gave her the courage to open
herself up and allow herself to love again.

Marianne's parents had protested her staying but when she insisted that
this was what she wanted to do her mother had finally relented. Her father
had no intention of letting her have her way but her mother told him to leave
her alone. She wasn't real sure what had transpired between her
parents since she had left Denver but her mother seemed to be taking charge. Marianne
had never seen her mother really stand up to her father but she sensed that
Janice Jones had changed and she was not going to take orders from Marianne's
father any more.

They had come by the hospital earlier that morning then they were going to
head back to Denver after they left the hospital but promised that they would
be back in a few weeks to see her. Her mother had said that she would
be calling every day to check on her. Marianne sensed that her mother
had decided that she was going to let Marianne live her own life and was going
to accept Marianne for who she really was. It was truly a wonderful feeling
that she felt was going to bring her and her mother closer together. Her
father was still not saying much and Marianne wasn't sure he would ever
come around but she didn't care.

Marianne had dressed after her parents left and was making sure she had gathered
all her things while she waited for Robin to arrive. She heard the door
open and expected it to be Robin but was quite shocked when she turned around
and saw Amanda Kinsey standing in the door way. She was just as beautiful
as Marianne remembered. Her auburn hair was a little shorter than it
had been when Marianne had known her. Marianne's gaze met Amanda's
troubled hazel eyes.

"I know you probably don't want to see me but I've come
to apologize for all the trouble I've caused you and to say goodbye." Amanda
said softly and took a step towards Marianne.

"I appreciate the apology but I've gotten over what happened and
moved on with my life." Marianne stated and stood up straighter. She
wasn't sure what Amanda really wanted but she wanted to be prepared for
anything.

"I'm glad to hear that but my apology is for what happened to
you here." Amanda said sadly and looked down.

Marianne studied her, "What do you mean?"

Amanda looked back up at her, "The avalanche was not planned but it
was a good thing that it happened otherwise you might not be here right now."

"What do you mean?" Marianne asked feeling a little dizzy and
swayed slightly.

Amanda saw Marianne sway and quickly moved to help her sit down. "My
father had hired two of the idiots that work for him to make you and your friend
have an accident that neither of you were not supposed to survive."

"What?!" Marianne asked, shocked that Robert Kinsey hated her
so much that he wanted her dead.

"Apparently your friend was snooping around the lodge too much and he
was afraid that she was going to discover what his real interest was here. The
fact that you showed up here just gave him an added bonus to his plans to get
rid of her."

Marianne was glad that she was sitting because she would have probably fallen
down. Just the thought that Robert had planned to kill Robin even if
she had not been there was enough to make her feel like passing out but that
she was an added bonus was sickening. "Why?"

Amanda took the chair next to Marianne's and took Marianne's hand
in hers. When Marianne's eyes met hers she looked down at their hands
then back up to Amanda's eyes and wondered briefly why her touch was
not affecting her the way it had in the past, "My father is the one who
was financing the drug processing place where they were using the peyote and
meth chemicals to make a new drug."

Marianne's mouth dropped open. There were a lot of reasons that
she could imagine for Robert Kinsey to have been involved with the lodge but
manufacturing drugs had not been one of them.

"So now you understand why I'm here to apologize. Your friend
had been around the lodge a lot and the Ute Indians had been investigating
all the people involved in the acquisition of the lodge and my father was afraid
that your friend would stumble across the place they were working on putting
the drug together, which your hiking group would have come across if you hadn't
been stopped by the avalanche. I'm assuming my father's reasoning
was that if something happened to your friend that would take the Ute's
attention away from the lodge and what was happening there long enough for
him to get the drug developed and move the manufacturing site." Amanda
stopped to let Marianne digest all that information.

"But…" Marianne started to say she doubted that Robin would
have had a clue about the drugs but she would have guessed what was happening
if she had come across the manufacturing lab while out hiking. Even though
she wouldn't have known who was responsible, Robin would have immediately
alerted the authorities.

"When I saw you at the lodge I was so surprised but I was terrified
that my father would see you and even if he did I had hoped he wouldn't
recognize you but he did. He started whispering to that Cody guy then
the two of them left. I decided to follow them to Cody's office
but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. If I would have
know then what was happening I would have found a way to warn you guys but
I didn't find out what was going on until I got back to Los Angeles. I
have always had a few people who work close to my father in my pocket." Amanda
looked away sadly. "It amazing what people will do for money," She
looked back at Marianne, "Anyway, someone who was very upset about the
drug issue told me what was going on with the manufacturing and that led me
to the people who told me about the plan he had for your friend and you. He
had actually hired to thugs to make sure that you had an accident or to just
simply kill the whole party if that became necessary."

Marianne's mouth dropped open again, "My God, why would he kill
a group of innocent people like that."

Amanda looked Marianne in the eye, her own eyes reflecting her deep sorrow; "It
wouldn't be the first time he has had people killed to get what he wants. He
doesn't know that I know about as many people as I do." Looking
away from Marianne, "I feel just as guilty for having looked the other
way for all these years," looking back at Marianne, "but I decided
to make amends. I got in touch with the FBI, who have been investigating
him for some time, and told them what I know. That is why I'm here
to say goodbye. They are putting me into the witness protection program
and I'm going to disappear permanently."

"I'm sorry," was all the Marianne could think to say.

"Don't be. I'm the one who is sorry. I'm
sorry for what he did to you, what he did to us. I really did love you
and I never wanted you to be hurt." Amanda's hazel eyes glimmered
with tears and Marianne knew that she meant what she was saying. Amanda
looked at her watch, "I do have to be going now. I hope you have
a great life and that things work out with your friend."

"Robin." Marianne smiled softly. "Her name is Robin."

Amanda returned her smile. "Robin. She looks like a nice
person."

"She is." Marianne said and started to pull her hand from
Amanda's but Amanda held her hand then leaned in and kissed her lightly
on the lips. "Goodbye, Marianne." She got up, turned and
walked to the door, opened and went out without looking back.

Robin, who had watched the end of their exchange, was waiting in the hallway
with her arms crossed angrily across her chest, stared Amanda down as she stepped
out of the room.

Amanda smiled at Robin, "Don't worry. You won't be
seeing me around again. She's all yours." She walked
past Robin and got on the elevator.

Robin stepped into the room to see Marianne looking out the window crying. "Don't
worry, she won't be back." Marianne said as she wiped the
tears that she began crying when she realized how little affect that Amanda's
touch had on her in comparison to Robin's. She now regretted all
the time she had wasted pining for Amanda and the time she had wasted holding
Robin at arm's length. But did Robin really care for her the way
she cared for Robin? She couldn't meet Robin's eyes when
she asked, "She said that she told the police that her father was behind
this. Did she really?"

Robin stood by the door unsure of what to make of Marianne crying over Amanda, "Yes
she did. The FBI have him in custody as we speak."

Marianne looked up at Robin. She realized that Robin had not come any
closer to her. Robin looked sad and a little angry, "You saw her
kiss me, didn't you?"

"Yes." Robin didn't move her eyes from Marianne's
searching gaze.

"It didn't mean anything."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, looking at the tracks of Marianne's
recent tears.

Marianne stood unsteadily forcing Robin to grab her and help her sit back
down, "I guess I'm not ready to be aggressive yet."

Robin had to grin, "What were you planning on being aggressive about?"

Marianne looked into Robin's eyes, "I was going to show you that
it didn't mean anything. In fact, I was crying when you came in
because her kiss made me realize how much time I've been wasting on her."

"Really?" Robin asked as she knelt in front of Marianne.

"Yes," Marianne said as she cupped Robin's face in her hands
and kissed her. She looked deeply into Robin's eyes, "I don't
really know how you feel about me but this experience has made me realize how
precious time is and I don't want to waste anymore time. I love
you but if you don't love me, I want to know now."

Robin rocked on her heels, shocked by Marianne's confession. She
had been trying to tell herself that she wasn't falling in love with
Marianne ever since that first hiking trip but she knew that she had been falling
for her from the moment she laid eyes on the small blond. "I do love
you too," She answered quickly so Marianne wouldn't doubt her words. She
leaned in for another kiss when she heard someone clear their throat behind
her.

Dr. Carter had come into the room after a slight knock and was only slightly
shocked by what he saw. He had known that Robin was a lesbian for a long
time and suspected that she and Marianne were very close but he hadn't
expected to actually walk in on them kissing. "Sorry for the interruption
but I've got Marianne's discharge papers if you two would like
to continue your conversation somewhere else." He said as his embarrassment
subsided.

Both women had jumped and separated themselves when the heard the doctor clear
his throat but both were still thoroughly embarrassed. "Yes, we
would like to continue our conversation somewhere else." Robin
said, not meeting the doctor's eyes.

The doctor went over Marianne's release instructions and had her sign
her release forms. When they were almost done he looked pointed at Robin
and said, "Now, she does not need to be overly excited for awhile still
so try to keep your conversations relatively calm, understand?"

Robin blushed and dropped her head, "Yes, I understand."

Marianne, too, was embarrassed but laughed as she hugged the doctor, "Don't
worry. I'm sure she is going to be very over protective of me and
not let me get too excited about anything. I'll see you in two
weeks at your office."

Dr. Carter hugged her back and said, "See you then." He
left the room with a slight chuckle and told Robin to have her father give
him a call.

Robin promised and then hurried Marianne out of the room and hospital so they
could get back to her house where she could kiss Marianne the way she really
wanted to.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Nearly a year had passed since the avalanche and Marianne and Robin's
brush with death. Marianne still wrote for Back Lands Magazine but now
she wrote from her home with Robin in the mountains outside Durango. Robin
had reopened her outfitting business in a small shop in town close to some
other tourists' attractions. Business had been booming ever since
the story about Robert Kinsey paying to have two thugs to kill Robin and Marianne
in an effort to cover up his drug lab in the mountains had hit the news.

Even though the Feds had known about the hiring of the thugs, the story did
get released to the reporters until the bodies of two men were found by hikers
after the spring thaw. A note was found clutched in the hand of one man that
told who had hired them and why. It also told of the whereabouts of the
drug lab. Although Clarence Bosvic had been considered the brains of the two
man operation that the FBI had been hunting in connection with two other murders,
Bart Townsend was the one who had the conscience and had written the note telling
what the two had been doing in the mountains just in case they didn't
get rescued. Later when the police searched Bart and Clarence's
apartments, they found journals that Bart had kept which told in great detail
about many of the jobs that they had done for Robert Kinsey including the two
murders that the FBI had already been hunting them for. The journals,
along with Amanda's testimony, proved to be monumental in the Attorney
General's prosecution of Robert Kinsey who received a life sentence for
his involvement in four murders and six attempted murders, including his attempt
to have Robin and Marianne murdered.

Marianne's parents divorced about six months after Marianne left the
hospital and her mother had moved to Durango where she opened a dress shop. Marianne
had been quite surprised to find out that her mother had been an aspiring model
when she had met Marianne's father. Her father had made her mother
quit modeling when they got married but Janice had never lost her flair for
fashion and was now using it to her advantage as she catered to the taste of
the more well to do tourists that came to town either for the nature or outdoor
activities.

Marianne's father had stayed in Denver and was still working to try
to become a partner at Brandson, Brandson and Wiseman. He still had not
accepted Marianne's lifestyle and the two had not spoken in almost a
year. Marianne was quite sad about it, especially today because she and
Robin were about to be married and Marianne wished that her father could be
there to see the ceremony and be happy for her but that was not going to happen. Marianne's
mother, however, had been ecstatic about the wedding and had insisted on finding
Marianne a dress. Robin and her parents would be wearing their traditional
ceremonial clothing.

The wedding was being held at the cliff dwellings just outside of Cortez because
Marianne and Robin both wanted the historical tribal setting to be apart of
the wedding. Thom "Grizzly" White Feather, who was the tribe's
shaman, was going to perform the ceremony for them. When Marianne had
first met the small man she had asked how on Earth he had got the nickname "Grizzly," he
had smiled and showed her a scar that went across his stomach. "The
grizzly that gave me this when I was a young man stood taller than Jack Hawke. He
made the mistake of leaving me before I was dead." He pulled the necklace
of grizzly claws from around his neck for Marianne to see, "He didn't
get a chance to make that mistake twice."

Marianne had been in awe by that story about the quiet man but she had been
really surprised to find out that he was not an elected shaman, that it was
a family gift that had been passed down for many generations. Many members
of his family had been given the gift of healing and had passed it down the
generations. The longer Marianne had spent around Robin and her family the
more she learned about the importance of the Native Americans effort to preserve
their history and their need to share their traditions with the young. She
was quite impressed by the amount of energy most of the people in the tribe
put into making sure the young learned their history, their stories, their
language and traditions. Marianne wanted to help too and had begun to
volunteer to help tutor some of the kids.

Robin's whole tribe seemed have embraced Marianne. Everyone seemed
to be involved with the ceremony in one way or another. Although some
of it was going to be like a traditional Native American marriage ceremony,
Robin and Marianne both wanted to add their own special touches to the ceremony.

In the few weeks before the ceremony, Marianne found that there was a big
secret about Robin that was being kept from her and not knowing what it was
going on was making her nuts. Everyone seemed to be in on the secret but her. Robin
promised her that she would find out what the secret was soon enough.

Finally, today, the day of the ceremony came. It was a perfect southwestern
day. The sky was cobalt blue and dotted by only a few small clouds. As
the day wore on the browns, oranges and reds of the cliffs began to glow setting
up the perfect back drop for their wedding. The photographer had already
taken tons of pictures with her digital camera. Marianne was a nervous
wreck. She had not been allowed to see Robin since the day before. Robin's
mother said that even though they were two brides, it would still be bad luck
for them to see each other before the wedding.

People seemed to be coming out of the wood work and the four drums representing
the four directions of the winds had been set up and the drummers were beginning
to play and sing the chants of the Native American songs. The rhythm
of the drums seemed to match the racing of Marianne's heart as she came
to stand in front of the shaman. All her friends from Back Lands were
sitting with her mother on the front row. She and Robin had decided not
to have bridesmaids. They were going to just have to their closest friends
in the front rows with the families. Josie and Janice were already crying
and Marianne could see that Karen, Brenda and Sally were all trying to keep
things together. The men of course were all acting like everything was
okay but she saw Tim wipe a tear once.

Marianne was becoming very nervous because Robin's parents had not come
out to sit down yet. She wasn't real sure why but no one else seemed
troubled by them not being in the front row. Finally the drummers began
playing a traditional Native American wedding song. It was so beautiful
that Marianne wanted to cry. Suddenly everyone sitting and watching the
ceremony stood up and Robin's mother appeared in her full traditional
custom. It was a beautiful buckskin dress, died light blue and adorned
with beads and eagle feathers. She came and stood across from Marianne. She
smiled with pride then turned to look back in the direction she had just come. Marianne's
mouth dropped open at what she saw next. Robin's father was dressed
in the full headdress and costume of that of the chief of the Ute Indians. Marianne
had seen pictures of the costume in some books. On his arm was Robin, wearing
a white buckskin dress and white leather moccasins. The bead work and
feathers were amazing and she wore a small headdress made of beads and eagle
feathers. Robin had never mentioned her family's status in the
tribe other than the fact that her father was on the tribal council.

Robin watched Marianne's blue eyes widen in awe as she came closer. Robin
would tell her later that her dress had been made by her great grandmother
and worn by her grandmother, her mother and now her at their weddings. Robin
stood before Marianne and she wanted to cry at how beautiful Marianne looked
in her white silk and lace wedding dress.

Janice had gone all out to find the perfect dress that would be a compliment
and a contrast to Robin's buckskin dress. She smiled with pride from
the front row at seeing how the dress perfectly complimented Robin's
dress which Robin's mother, Betty had allowed her to see with the promise
that she wouldn't tell Marianne what it looked like. It was a perfect
meeting a two cultures Janice thought.

Thom White Feather smiled at them both. He and Robin's dad were
both wearing their long gray hair tied back in a ponytail. He was also in his
traditional costume as a shaman. He took their hands and placed them together.
They had rehearsed this ceremony several times and Thom said his prayer for
them and asked them to say their promises to each other but this time when
he asked Marianne if she promised to love and honor Robin forever he added
her title to the statement. He asked if she would love and honor the
Ute princess and traditional chief's daughter forever. Some how
Marianne had gotten out the words that she would and before she knew it the
ceremony was over. They kissed briefly and then they were walking down
the isle together as a married couple in the tribe's eyes.

They spoke briefly to everyone before they started taking pictures. The
sun had started to set and was casting perfect shadows on the rock formations
and the photographer was pushing them to get the pictures done before they
lost the lighting. While they were setting up for one of the shots, Marianne
looked into the Robin's eyes, "Why haven't you ever told
me that you were a princess?"

"Because of Cameron," Robin began sadly, "She said that
she loved me for who I was but she had found out that my father was the traditional
chief of the tribe and a direct descendent of Chief Ouray. For some reason
she thought that made us rich and that was what she was really interested in,
she thought that we had money but when she found out that the title was only
ceremonial and that we didn't live in a castle, she went back to New
York and her high class friends. I wanted to make sure you were going to be
with me for who I am, not because I have a title or anything else."

Marianne stroked Robin's face gently, "You should have known by
now that I didn't care about any of that."

Robin smiled, "I did but the look on your face when Thom said that I
was a princess was worth keeping the secret."

Marianne playing punched her arm, "You are something else. You've
saved my life three times and you are just simply the best person I've
ever known. I don't care if you have a title or anything else,
I love you for you."

"I only saved you twice," Robin said puzzled.

"You physically saved me twice but you saved me from myself when I was
about to give up on love." Marianne smiled as the photographer
snapped their picture.

"You did the same for me. I didn't think I would ever trust
anyone again but you helped me get past that." Robin smiled and
leaned in to kiss Marianne as the photographer snapped their pictures.

The photographer stood up and pointed to the cliff dwellings behind them. The
sun was sinking low and causing the rocks to form shadows and in the middle
of the wall was a heart shaped shadow. Robin put her arm around Marianne
and looked at the shadow. "Even the ancestral spirits approve of
our love. How much more beautiful can this day get?"

Marianne kissed her lightly, "Much more so when I get you home and naked."

Robin laughed, "You're right, there is nothing more beautiful
than making love with you."

The photographer quietly slipped away leaving the couple to watch the rest
of the sunset alone.